Metal working apparatus



Dec. 11, 1956 c. A. NICHOLS El AL METAL WORKING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 20, 1952 United States Patent METAL WORKING APPARATUS Application August 20, 1952, Serial No. 305,474

Claims. (Cl. 80.26)

This invention relates to metal working and is particularly directed to gap rolling apparatus for producing predetermined configurations on strip stock.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved gap rolling apparatus wherein a workholder is used which is easily adjustable for predeterminately aligning the work with respect to thegap rolls. In carrying out this object, it is a further object to provide a workholder which may be adjusted rotatably or laterally with respect to the rolls whereby the work may be properly aligned with the rolls.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a spring clip device at the top of the workholder for releasably holding the workpiece therein, which spring clip facilitates the assembly of the workpiece to the workholder and permits ejection of the workpiece from the workholder after the gap rolling operation is completed without any manipulation on the part of an operator.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein preferred embodiments of the present invention are clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view of a pair of gap rolls showing the workholder and the workpiece in'position at the start of the operation.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the workholder.

Fig. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow marked 3 in Fig. 2.

V Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3. Gap rolling operations for producing cold workedmetal objects are particularly adapted for use in the manufacture of elongated articles from strip stock, for example, blades as are used in axial flow compressors and the like.

In application, Serial No. 299,316, a gap rolling fixture is shown in connection with a workholder which is yieldably positioned beneath the gap rolls and which is released for self-adjusting the workpiece in connection with thegap rolls just prior to the actual rolling step.

The present invention is directed to a workholder which may be advantageously used in connection with the gap rolls and apparatus shown in said aforementioned application or which may be used in connection with any pair of gap rolls to hold the workpiece releasably with respect thereto.

Workholders used in connection with gap rolls in general must necessarily be properly aligned with the rolls in order that each workpiece operated upon is drawn through the rolls in the same general path and from the same starting position with respect to the rolls. In this connection, it is apparent that the workholder must be properly aligned with the surfaces of the rolls or else the workpiece will be twisted during its passage through the rplls. The position of the workholder is also a necessary factor in determining the cold work with respect to the "ice workpiece through the lateral dimension thereof. In otherwords, if the workpiece is off center with the rolls even though aligned therewith, the cold work is carried out on only a portion of the workpiece. I

For these reasons, it is particularly desirable to have a workholder that is easily and accurately adjusted so that once in adjustment every workpiece carried thereby is drawn through the rolls in exactly the same position whereby each workpiece operated upon is identical. In order to obtain this condition, it is necessary to have the workholder rotatably adjustable so as to provide or eliminate twists as the case may be and also laterally adjustable so that the cold work takes place in the desired portion of the workpiece. In addition to these requirements, it is also a desirable requirement to have a grip portion in the workholder which will releasably hold the workpiece so that the workpiece may be quickly placed in position on the workholder and may be easily removed or in some cases automatically ejected without the necessity of manipulation of a chuck or the like.

The workholder, as described herein, meets all of these requirements. Referring specifically to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a workholder 20 comprising a main standard portion 22 having a slidable block portion 24 and an adjustment rim 26. The upper end of the block 24 embraces a bifurcated construction 28 consisting of two legs or plates, each of which is provided with a slot 30 and a yieldable clip spring 32 riveted thereto for closing the ends of the slots 30. In this manner, a workpiece 34 may be slipped into the slots 30 and yieldably held in position by the springs 32 while it is operated on by gap rolls 36 and 38 between which the workpiece 34 is positioned by the workholder 20. The lower end of the workholder 20 is set upon and fixed to a standard 40 of a hydraulic cylinder, not shown, and which may be of any suitable design for example as shown in the aforementioned copending application. The standard 40 is movable downwardly against a yieldable means so that as the gap rolls 36 and 38 roll the workpiece 34, the standard 40 moves downwardly as the workholder 20 is moved downwardly by the action of the gap rolls. At the end of the downward movement, an ejector pin 42 is actuated upwardly to eject the workpiece 34 from the slots 30 against the yieldable resistance of springs 32 whence it falls onto a conveyor or other collecting means.

The specific design of the workholder 20 is of considerable importance. As previously stated, the workpiece must be accurately positioned with respect to the rolls 36 and 38. In order to accomplish this, certain adjustments must be possible in connection with the workholder to permit accurate precision adjustment thereof with a minimum of difiiculty and wherein the workholder, when properly adjusted, may be locked in position so that subsequent parts being operated upon are always passed through. the rolls in identical relationship thereto.

The lower end of the workholder 20 is provided with the adjustment rim 26 which surrounds the main standard 22. The rim 26 is formed in two parts 44 and 46. Part 46 is attached to the standard 40 permanently by means of a screw or other device 48 together with dowel pins 50 so that it is immovable with respect to'the standard40. The portion 44 of the rim 26, Which'is of a horeshoe shape, is attached to standard 22 and includes two elongated apertures 52 therethrough, through which screws 54 pass and are threaded into the standard 40. The heads of the screws 54 overlap the rim portion 44 so that the rim portion 44 is held to the standard 40. When the screws 54 are loosened, the rim portion 44 may be rotated with simultaneous rotation of the attached standard 22 to the extent of the slots 52 and when rotated to the desired position, the screws 54 may be tightened to lock the entire workholder in the desired position.

3. In order to obtain precision adjustment of the rim portion 44', two screw adjustment members 56 are threaded through the rim portion 46 so as to engage the ends of the rim portion 44. Clearance is provided between the ends of the rim portion 44 and rim portion 46 to permit limited rotational movement of the rim portion 44. 'I'hus, if the rim portion 44 is to be turned counterclockwise, the lock screws 54 are loosened and the left hand adjusting screw 56 is backed oti while the right hand screw 56 is turned inwardly. This effects a micrometer adjustment of the rim portion 44 and its associated standard 22. When the exact rotational position thereof is obtained, the screws 54 may be tightened down to hold the adjustment.

The block 24 is carried by the standard 22 providing a second adjustment, this with respect to lateral adjustment of the bifurcated arms 28. The block 24 fits within a slot or groove 58 in the top of the standard 22. This block 24 is held to the standard by screws 60 passing through elongated holes 62in the block. The screws 66 thread into the standard 22. In this manner, the block is movable laterally of the standard to the extent of the length of the holes 62 when the screws or bolts 60 are loosened. In order to obtain micrometer adjustment of the block. 24 and the attached bifurcated workholder arms 28, two dowel pins 64', set in the block 24, are used which extend intoelongated slots 66 in the standard 22. Each slot 66 is provided with a set or adjustment screw 68,. as

noted in Fig. 5. Thus, when the bolts 60 are loosened, the block 24 may be moved to right or left by the micrometer adjustment of screws 68. Ifthe block 24 is to be moved to the left, the left hand screw 68 is backed oir' while the right hand screw 68 is threaded inwardly to push the dowel pin 64 toward the left and thereby carry the entire block 24 toward the left. For right hand adjustment, reversal of this procedure isused. When the block 24 is properly positioned laterally, the screws 60 may be tightened to hold the block and the bifurcated arms 28 thereof in set position with respect to the gap rolls.

From this description, it will be understood that the workholder is rotatably adjustable and also laterally adjustable of the standard 40 whereby the workpiece may be properly positioned in a precision-like manner with respect to the rolling surfaces of the gap rolls 26 and 28. Once the workholder is properly positioned and locked in place by tightening of the various set screws, a plurality of workpieces may be individually passed through the rolls in an identical position with respect thereto and with no necessity of subsequent adjustment so long as'the workpiece blank or workpiece itself. is'of the same size. That is to say, that as long as the operation is the same, no further adjustments are required.

When different gap rolls or a different workpiece is to be used, this same workholder is applicable since it may be adjusted to accommodate the changes in the remainder of the apparatus so that the workholder is in the proper position relative thereto. This is important from a production standpoint since it permits the use of the same workholder with a plurality of gap rolls and workpieces. In this connection, it is apparent that if the portion of the workpiece to be held in the workholder varies in shape or size appreciably from one workpiece to another in different operations, the block 24-rnay be replaced readily by removing the two screws 60 and settinga new block in place wherein the bifurcated arms 28' are differently spaced and wherein the grooves-.30 therein are properly dimensioned for holding the new workpiece. In no: instance is it necessary to change the entireworkholder,

thereby increasing the flexibility of a given setup for satisfactory operations over a wide variety of workpieces;

While the embodiments of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitute preferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A workholder for use in connection with gap rolls comprising in combination, a standard, aworkholder rotatably supported upon said standard, and including a split flange having clearance between the two portions of said flange, one of said portions being immovably. secured to the standard and the other of said flanges being immovably secured to the workholder and being capable of limited rotation with respect to the standard, locking means in connection with the second mentioned flange for locking the flange in any given position to the standard and adjustment means in connection with the first flange for adjusting the second flange with respect thereto,

and means for yieldably gripping a workpiece on said 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means for yieldably grippingthe workpiece comprises two spaced arms, each having agroove for receiving the workpiece and being spaced apart substantially the width of said workpiece and resilient means bridging saidgrooves for yieldably holding the workpiece therein.

4. A workholder for holding a workpiece which is to be operated upon in a predetermined position, comprising in combination; a support, anadjustable membercarried' by said support and removably fixed thereto, saidmemberhaving a split flange at one end thereof with clearance between the edges of the" split portions, one of said portions being fixedly secured to the support and the other of said portions being fixedly secured to the member, fastening means holding the portion of the flange attached to the member to said support, adjustment means acting on that portion of the flange attached to the member and carried by the portion of the flange which is attached to the support, whereby when said fastening means are" loosened, the member may be rotatably adjusted relative to said support by said adjustment means, a workholder head carried by the other end of said member and laterally adjustable with respect thereto, adjustment means for said workholder head carried by said member and fastening means associated with the work-' holder for fastening the workholder head in any predetermined adjusted position.

5. The workholder as claimed'in claim 4, wherein the workholder head includes yieldable gripping means for removably gripping a workpiece therein. 

